Decided to start right in the middle, with the mid roast TGY. About 5gr in about 50mL of water, gongfu style. Boiling water (which is around 200F at my altitude). I'm really enjoying this one. I'm getting caramel, fresh baked bread, toasted bagel, coffee notes, in addition to the nice high floral notes I'm used to in greener oolongs, and a little bit of fruit as well - I think maybe apricot or nectarine lingering in the background?

AdamMY wrote:It tastes more like a red tea than an oolong, in my opinion.

Definitely... I think they said it was 90% oxidized, so it's nearly all the way to a red.

I tried this jade this afternoon, made it through a few steeps before having to go to dinner -- very light and green with the slightest hint of something (I call it 'eggy' but not quite sure how to pinpoint it).

I am enjoying all of these teas so far... looking forward to the rest, hopefully tomorrow!

Brewed up the Jade oolong yesterday, gongfu. Entire sample into 120ml gaiwan. Boiling water. Flash rinse then 30s, 15s, 20s, 30s......stopped at around #12, brewed for a few minutes. This leaf still had some life in it, but it was getting late and I was very tired.This was a brisk, clean tea. A little fruitiness, nice floral aroma. Slightly astringent aftertaste. For the amount of leaf I used, this tea was a little too light. There was no butteriness I look for in good gaoshan.Checking the price of this one, it is a very good value. It would be a good choice for someone looking for an inexpensive everyday Formosa. Easy to brew. Easy to drink. Nice. But, not too exciting. Rating this without considering it's price, comparing it to all other Taiwans I have had of this type...3.5...which is pretty good for about 13 cents a gram.

Next for me was the Li Shan. Sweet, a little eggy, a little buttery, slightly spicy, perhaps cinnamon and cumin. Dry leaf smelled wonderfully toasty and floral, but I didn't get those notes in the wet leaf or liquor. I felt like this tea lost flavor rather quickly; I didn't get too many brews out of it. I don't like green oolong in general, and this tea was no exception. To me, green oolong is like a duet of two piccolos - no supportive midrange or bass, just a lot of what sounds like shrieking. But for what it's worth, I did feel that this Li Shan was better than half the green oolongs I've tasted before.

Tried the Jade last night and the Li Shan this afternoon. This is my first experience with Taiwan Oolongs and I feel like these teas made a good first impression.

I brewed both about the same: 3g with just over 2oz water in a gaiwan, quick rinse and starting with infusions of about 30 sec.

Jade was light and floral, a little buttery, and had some sweetness I couldn't think how to describe, "sweet corn" might be right though. I found the Li Shan to be more floral with a sharper finish, less buttery, and not as sweet as the Jade. I definitely enjoyed both sessions. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up on more as I taste them again.

IMPERIAL PEARLDRY LEAF: The hard, dry leaves were individually rolled irregularly into small green “pearls,” and are uniformly dark green in color. The unsteeped aroma is predictably, but not overwhelmingly vegetal.INFUSED LIQUOR AROMA: Roasty and rich, similar in several ways to a Yunnan black tea.INFUSED LIQUOR TASTE: Rich, aggressive roasted flavor. While roasted Yunnan teas will have a fair amount of tips to reduce the power of the liquor, Imperial Pearl is closer to a black tea in many ways. Clear, medium brown color. A morning tea guaranteed to coax you awake, with a certain amount of sweetness to allay the smokiness.REMARKS: "Brandy oolong" is oxidized at around 90%, and the leaves are picked in summer. As a result, the flavor is deeper and more pronounced. This particular tea received recognition at the North American Tea Championship. You can easily reduce the intensity of the liquor by cutting down on the overall quantity of leaves before brewing.RATING: 74/100, 4/5

ORIENTAL BEAUTY CAKEDRY LEAF: Dark green with what looks like whitish buds. Peachy aroma, maybe a touch of taffy-like sweetness.INFUSED LIQUOR AROMA: Honey brown with an ever-so-slight astringency.INFUSED LIQUOR TASTE: Slightly restrained flavor - no astringency here - mixing honey and lychee and an afterthought of lemon; and as is the case with most Oriental Beauty, the taste is smooth and appealing.REMARKS: Most Oriental Beauty tea is notable for the infamous insect-bitten leaves; this version has been pressed into a tea cake, an inventive way to make its appearance unique and appealing. RATING: 79/100, 4/5

Last edited by spinmail on Aug 3rd, '12, 14:59, edited 4 times in total.